Sermon Central
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Step By Step His Way
Contributed by Steve Keeler on Feb 14, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: So often we believe we are on the right path, just when we think all is in line with God’s plan, we run into a road block.
Step by Step - His Way by Steve Keeler
Scripture Jeremiah 29:11
If you’ve been to a bookstore in the past fifteen years you’ve noticed the “…for Dummies” series of books out there. There are “…for Dummies” books about almost everything: “Quilting for Dummies,” “Hang Gliding for Dummies,” “Nuclear Physics for Dummies.”
Today we are going to take a look at, “Life for Dummies” because, while we may be quite smart, I think we would all have to admit that we at times have a need for some assistance; especially when we hit roadblocks in life.
Have you ever experienced a roadblock in your life? I’m not talking about the kind where the police are looking for drunks. I’m talking about when you have a plan, you think it’s a good plan, if you’re a believer you may think it’s the path God wants you to take, and all of a sudden… bam, the road is closed and you can’t figure out why.
You thought this was a good thing – you thought this was a God thing. Then suddenly there’s nowhere to go, “Now what?” Life can be confusing at times, can’t it?
An earth science teacher was lecturing on map reading. After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes, the teacher asked, “Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude... what would happen?”
After a confused silence, a student volunteered, “I guess you’d be eating by yourself.”
Roadblocks are a fact of life. Sometimes roadblocks cause us to adjust course, sometimes we need to stop and go back, and at times we simply need to plow on through.
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
I’m so thankful that God cares enough about me to direct my steps. Now, I don’t think that means that I’m a puppet with God pulling all my strings; but I do think that God is interested in what I do and where I go, and so he keeps a close watch on me.
When our children left home for the first time, you know, the first day of first grade, did you just say “see ya later, have a good day”?
I don’t think so, most of the time that day involves some tears and most often a personal ride to school.
Some parents even sneak around and park in the parking lot just to get a glimpse of their children at recess to make sure all is ok. That way if any thing goes wrong you’re right there for them.
That’s the image I get here of the LORD, He directs our steps. He is intimately interested in our lives, and He’s as involved in our lives as we’ll allow. And sometimes God uses roadblocks to direct our steps.
The roadblocks I’m talking about are the things which happen in life, which give us reason to hit the pause button.
Roadblocks can manifest themselves in many ways. Like job openings in other places or a job opportunity lost or a layoff, a medical condition popping up, plans to sell a house that fall through, unexpected, unpayable bills, etc.
Anything in life that you just didn’t plan for and couldn’t anticipate, I would call that a roadblock. And as I said before, they happen to everyone.
So what do you do when they occur? I want to share with you some wisdom from God’s bestselling book: Life for Dummies, A.K.A., the Bible.
God is a God that won’t leave you hanging. God might stop us if we are doing something bad. God might stop us if we’re doing something good, if it’s not the right time or we’re not going about it the right way. God might even be testing us to see if we really will do what He asks us to do.
You know, sometimes, roadblocks come from our adversary, Satan, trying to stop us from doing what God wants us to do.
So, How to Handle Life’s Roadblocks Biblically:
Step 1: Check your motive.
I think this is the very first thing we must do. If there’s a roadblock in my life, it’s there for a reason.
Nothing happens apart from God’s knowledge, He may not be the cause, He knows. Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
And it’s so easy for us to ask God to bless what we want to do without ever consulting what He wants us to do. If we are truly Christ followers, we must never forget, we are His bond slaves and will be obedient to His will.
Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
